Wednesday, August 14, 2013

And then there were 3

The once-packed Democratic race for Queens Borough President is turning into a duel.

State Sen. Tony Avella, the maverick politician who cut his teeth as a Queens civic leader, has dropped out of the contest.

“I will never stop fighting and advocating for all residents of Queens,” Avella said in a statement released late Wednesday afternoon. “Yet, at this time, I believe I can best serve the people of Queens by remaining a state Senator.”

Avella’s departure leaves City Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. and former City Councilwoman Melinda Katz in a battle for the Democratic nomination. Businessman Everly Brown will also be on the Sept. 10 primary ballot.

Despite "dropping out", Avella's name will still appear on the ballot September 10th.

I'm disappointed, as he had my vote, but I'm not gonna lie - Tony did not really seem to have his heart in it, even as he was declaring. Yes, he had the civic group support from all around Queens, and that is something important which you can't buy, but he simply did not appear to get the boots on the ground outside of his strongholds, nor adequately tout the good work he's done over the years, where he deserved to take credit in areas that benefited from him, but where he had yet to become a household name.

It was, frankly, not as energetic a campaign compared with Vallone's and Katz's.

I'm so friggan pissed I cut him a rather big check (for a civilian) and he drops out like this ?Yeah he didn't have the "machines" money but a lot of people liked him he WAS REAL earning a huge shot at it.Just give up like that ?Now we get more fake scumbags (and worse) as a choice ...THIS FGGN SUX !!!This was the first time I gave a Democrat in an election like this and I will NEVER do it again.Now im selling my house in Ridgwood and cutting my losses, Queens is now dead for sure!

It doesn't matter. The position is a patronage mill. All they do is control a pot of tweeding money, appoint assholes to the community boards and make meaningless votes on land use. In that respect, Katz and Vallone are the same animal. Since the borough is too closed minded to opt for anything else but a Dem, whichever development worshipper wins the primary will win the general election.

So we lost Avella. Now is our chance to do something big. I know this guy Al is known in the council district 19 primarily. However he has received a lot of press county wide. From the park video, to the cover of every queens paper with one legitimate issue or another. I've seen him on NY 1 as well as WPIX. I know their is a channel 2 ( sorry twc customers) coming out soon.

If this is to be done , now is the chance. Lets write in Al Centola for Boro Pres. What say we do this for Queens? Or.... We all move out.

In New York State one does not have to be an attorney to be a judge but it is rare and you won't get support from the bar association. About 40 out of 50 states don't require it for some judgeships. However to be a federal judge you must have a law degree.

Perhaps Tony would have remained in the race if he had had a sex scandal in his background like Weiner and Spitzer or if he had donated sperm to a single woman in dire need of being a mother.

I just wish he had been more honest in his statement. The "I believe I can best serve the people of Queens by remaining a state Senator” is unadulterated crap. I wish he would have stated the truth, "I am dropping out because I'm getting my ass kicked by the scion of a Queens family in bed with the real estate developers and a woman who will pander to anyone and anything for self promotion including the head of a snake when given the opportunity."

Which one of the two will do a better job at getting Queens back the respect it has lost.

Take a hard look at their qualifications, their skill sets,their past performance andtheir personalities.

When the world looks at us, who do we want to present as our leader?_____________________________________________________________________________

Honestly, I think either would be a vast improvement over Helen Marshall, if for no other reason than to show Queens can field politicians with the intellectual capacity to complete law school.

Given the nut jobs who seem hell bent on sending NYC back to the 80s crime-wise in the Council and now the Federal courts, I'd actually prefer Vallone. The guy's got balls to stand up for cops in a city where it's politically correct to hate them. Queens is safer now than it's been in a long time.

No, I don't think he's a great, or even a good guy. But the above poster is right. Y'all had better choose. A vote for Avella now is a wasted chance to stop the worse of the two evils.

The person that said his heart was not in it is correct - Tony did nothing to expand his base, just showed up at some debates and split early, had a photo on his website with a handful of civics from eastern Queens which says it all.

He was either not on the level, or cut a deal. Remember he worked for Vallone and has ties to Parkside.

But not to worry. Business as usual with these clowns is drawing to a close. We no longer rely on the Tribune or Gazette for news, and no one believes the machine anymore (we at least under the age of 70)

Its only a matter of time before this structure comes crashing down. All we can do, like mice eating dinosaur eggs, is to apply a million cuts until it bleeds to death.

Vallone is sweatting bullets. You hardly see a Vallone campaign poster in Astoria, long term clients of the law firm are actively shopping for new lawyers, the buzz at Immac is strangely quiet, a lot of resentment on the in your face politicking with kids during the concerts in Astoria Park, the list of reports from deep inside Vallonia goes on and it doesn't look good.

Remember how Thompson would be mayor if people did not believe the fabricated reports of inevitably?

Two things to remember about Vallone.

Everyone has a neighbor that doesn't give a shit and is noisey/dirty/quality of life issue here.

Vallone is their friend. If you stay, nobody that is anybody will care. If you move out your home can be developed.

Everyone has a neighbor that doesn't give a shit and is ready to move out and sell his house to a jerk.

Vallone is their friend. He will 'save' your community with zoning the way he 'saved' his district. And when you discuss local issues at the community board, it will be a clone of CB1. Good luck.

Katz will litter her box but do it with some grace - and she will do it looking you in the eye. That's always a big thing with me.

Borough President is a job that shouldn't even exist, and I'm surprised that Tony would have run for it in the first place. With the way that he loves to fight for the underdog - and, yes, hold press conferences that garner publicity - he's the ideal Public Advocate candidate. He picked the wrong office to run for ... again.

19th district resident said... Although I've already contributed to Graziano's campaign, he might wind up losing my vote in the end.

Do I throw a good vote after good money?That might prove to be a double waste.

The bottom line is that my nabe needs protection.Does PG have any real power in government?

On the other hand, Paul Vallone lives in my nabe. His family has power. Although PV is a touch shady, I can count on him not crapping in his own backyard.

Is Graziano still electable with his cart hitched to Avella's horse?

We'll see. I haven't made my final decision yet.

This is an incredibly dumb comment.

If you've already donated to Graziano, then you know the work he's done in your nabe, from getting it downzoned, National Register, making sure that BFHA wasn't split between two Council Districts during redistricting and, just in the last month, enforcing BFHA's deed restrictions and getting a stop work order at an illegal construction site.

This is all *without* being in public office.

Pardon my French, but what the fuck has Paul Vallone done besides open up a law office to promote the family name, preside over a political club to enhance his stature, vote in favor of controversial developments on CB7 that negatively affect northeast Queens and continue his profession as a registered lobbyist for the real estate industry?

Nada.

And if you're so convinced he won't mess up his own neighborhood, where was he during redistricting? or the deed restriction fights? or the fight to get landmarked that BFHA has been working on for more than a decade?

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